Tension device



June 10, 1930. T. HOUGHTON TENSION DEVICE Filed Dec. 29, 1925 Patented lane 10, 1939 Unit ares LEWIS T. HOUGHTOIAT, 0F WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS; JOHN M. I-IOUGH'ION AND OLIVE M. LAMBERT, EXECUTORS G15 SAID LEWIS T. HOUGETON, DECEASED, AS-

TENSIUN DEVICE Application filed. December 29, 1925. Serial No.78,205.

This invention relates to the yarn guide and tension device for machines for spooling or winding yarn.

The principal objects of the invention are to provide a very durable device for this purpose in which the tension will be substantially constant in spite of variations in the yarn strain and to provide a construction in which an increased spool speed can be attained with less breakage and which can also be ajusted as a whole to several different postions to permit of the use of the device for a long period of time without expense for new parts; toprovide means for smoothly and evenly taking up without any sudden jerk, slack that occurs suddenly in the yarn; and to provide a construction in which new yarn bearing surfaces of the guides may be used to receive the wear of the yarn. These yarn bearings consist of two series of intermeshing rollers of any desired material and length. These rollers are of procelain, two inches long, providinga yarn bearing surface 1%ths in. long that can be utilized as desired. These rollers are mounted on a sliding frame that is moved across the yarn path enough to provide new bearings, while the yarn is running. These rollers also have an individual adjustment by turning enough to provide a new bearing surface and again using the slide adjustment along their length. This combinationof adjustments provides the same yarn bearing surface as about twenty new tensions without any expense for new parts.

In case of accidental breakage, a new roller is quickly inserted at a slight expense.

Other objects and advantages of the in- Q vention are to provide a simple means for adjusting the pivoted guide position relative to the fixed guides to construct the device so all the yarn guides remain horizontal throughout this action, and in which the motion of the movable set is perpendicular to the yarn path; and to simplify devices of this character by constructing them of materials and in forms that allow for such simplification.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a side view of a thread guide and tension device constructed in accordance with this invention and shown in operative position; y i i Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same with the parts in threading position;

Fig. 3 is a. plan; and

Fig. at is a sectional view on the line 4-4; of Fig. 3.

I have shown the invention as applied to a supporting frame 10 carrying an adjustable support 11 for a rod 12 for supporting a bobbin or cop 13. Near the top of this frame is a. bracket 14 carrying a guide eye 15. The frame extends above to provide a Vertical part 16 to which is secured a U-shaped frame 17 by means of two bolts 18 and 1%. bolt 18, when tightened up secures the frame 17 to the usual longitudinal rod 19. The adjustment of the outer leg of the frame 17 is provided for by the bolt 18*. A spacing plate 20 is held betweenthe upright 16 and the frame 17 and its end flanges engage the rod 19.

A sheet metal guide plate 22 is held to the front of the frame 17 by the head of the bolt 18. The outer leg of the frame 17 is provided with a horizontally integral end 21 at the bottom which supports the guide plate 22. This guide plate has two overhanging flanges 23 and 24 at the top and bottom be tween which are located the offset edges of another sheet metal plate or carriage 25 and a bolt 26 is passed through the plate 22 to. engage the plate 25 and hold it in any adjusted position. The upper and lower flanges 23 and 24 constitute tracks or guides in which this frame 25 slides longitudinally with respect to the rod 19 which supports the whole device. This adjustment is provided to distribute the wear and increase the durability of the device. In order to prevent the plate or carriage 25 being disconnected from the supporting plate and the track or guide, the former is provided with a stop 26 which projects into a slot 27* in the latter that extends only part way along it. The stop and slot limit the motion of the adjustment but guides 29 are alike but the guide 30 is different in that its two ends are enlarged to provide limits for the yarn. They are all'arranged parallel with each other and spaced apart, the three guides 29 beingshown as located in an inclined plane preferably and the top one of these in the same horizontal plane as the 7 guide 30.

On the opposite end the frame 27 has another integral vertical wall parallel with the first and secured to it if desired by a cross bolt 31. At the outer end this wall projects upwardly and is provided with a horizontal pivot stud 32 and a nut for holding it in position located above the path of the yarn. On this pivot stud is freely pivoted a plate 34 which is free to swing up and down about the stud. It is provided with three bolts 35 holding three other yarn guides 36of porcelain or similar material like theones previously mentioned, These are located in the same planeand, although the position of this plane depends upon the position of this plate 34, yet under operative conditions the plane is always inclined but at a more gentle angle than the plane of the guides 29 and passes above the pivot stud. Thus these guides come into contact with the yarn one by one. These guides are exactly like the guides 29 but of course they project inwardly'from the opposite side of the device and in both cases the bolts are provided with nuts on the back of their respective supporting plates. When the guides are worn on one side these nuts can be loosened and the uides turned sli htly, or preferably about quarter of'the way around, and then the nuts are tightened up again. This furnishes entirely new surfaces for the yarn. 1

' The plate 34: is limited in its upward motion by an integral stop 38. This plate is turned up'to the position shown indotted,

lines in 1 against the stop for convenience in threading, but is never raised to that position in operation.

' For the purpose of limiting the motion of this plate downwardly during operation, I

provide a cam plate 40 pivoted at 41 on the frame 27. This pivot is in the form of a screw which can be tightened up to hold the cam plate in adjusted positions. The cam itself has a handle 4-2for operating it and it has an operative edge at the opposite side which gradually recedes from the center about which it turns so as to give a cam ef feet. This'can be moved about its pivot to limit the lowermost position of the plate 34 lifts the plate 34 and its attached guides in accordance with the strain on'the yarn thereby lessening the yarn drag and automatically regulating itself to make the tension substantially uniform. V

This invention as shown in the drawings involves some of the features and advantages of my previous patents and these I have not described in detail.

The intermeshing ofthe guides must vary with the yarn strain so that the tension on the yarn where it is wound on the spool will be substantially constant. The pivoted guides come into yarn contact one at a time. T have found by a series of tests that I get approximately 5% greater strength and approximately 5% more elasticity by spooling yarn with this'tension device than could be obtained with the same yarn spooed by the old methods.

In all kinds of tensions commonly used in the yarn industry, a serious iault is the cutting and grooving of the yarn supports or guides. This cannot be eli inated and it necessitates the removal of the guides at frc-- quent intervals. It will be obvious that in this construction, a great deal of time and etc pense for new parts is saved by my invention. The lyarn supports or guides can be of porcelain, glass, steel, or any other particularly hard and smooth material. It is to be ob served that the side motion of the guides, which adjusts all of them and provides new bearing surfaces, is made easily Without stopping the running of the yarn or the winding operation and it provides for utilizing the major part of the length of each guide; These guides also can be reversed if desired. The porcelain guides are easily replaced at slight expense in case of breakage.

The device is easily adjusted to spool fine or coarse yarns from No. cotton yarn to 5-ply shoe thread. It is to be noticed that this invention furnishes a means for adjusting the intermeshing of the yarn guides without changing their horizontal position. This is an improvement over the prior devices in which the horizontal position was changed to an angular one which diverted the yarn path from normal. The provision of the guide in such a form that a pivotal motion of the guides perpendicular of the yarn path is secured assures a constant yarn position on the guides irrespective of the position of the path on the guides.

This device eliminates most of the jerky motion of uides of this character, particularly those in which the axis of the pivoted guides is parallel to the yarn path. This gives a positive control of the yarn path. In this case the motion of the guides is in line with the path of theyarn, instead of at right angles to it andaway from the yarn path. This seems to reduce the jerky motion that is noticed in certain old devices.

This device is also capable of taking up sudden slack evenly and without jerk. This is par icularly valuable in knitting machines where some knitting is done by a to and fro motion, as for example the knitting of the heels of stockings. Here the machine goes half way round and then stops and reverses rapidly. Slack necessarily occurs suddenly at each end of the motion. It has been found in practice that this results in the wasting of considerable quantities of yarn. By means of this device, guides 35 are capable of coming down so far that they will take up several inches of slack occurring in this way without any sudden jerk on the yarn. The slack that is taken up is divided into a series of strands going back and forth and the device works so smoothly that practically all of the waste occurring from this cause is eliminated. This is an important feature in knitting stockings and also valuable in other lines. There is practically no possibility of any slack actually occurring with this device as it is taken up while it is being formed. By the provision of a constant yarn stress in this way, independent of the tendency to provide sudden slack in the yarn, variation in the size of the loop is avoided and the needles are insured from missing a stitch which ordinarily occurs due to these variations. The jerks to which yarn has been subjected heretofore when the machine starts and stops are eliminated by this invention. This is especially advantageous over that type of tension device in which a separate wire spring is used to take up the slack. This spring moves back with a sudden rebound when the combination of a guide pivoted on an axis parallel to the length of the guide, carried on a fixed frame, movable on its pivot by the action of the yarn, afixed guide and means whereby both the pivoted and fixed guides may be adjusted together at will transversely to the yarn path to present new surfaces to the action of the yarn.

2. The combination of two series ofyarn guides mounted to turn on parallel axes,

whereby it can be turned on an axis, said axes being parallel, one series being pivoted to swing on an axis parallel with the axes of the guides, means for balancing the movable guides to giveany desired degree of yielding pressure and secure the desired yarntension, and means whereby the two series of guides can be adjusted together in the direction of their axes so as to present an entire new set of bearing surfaces to the yarn.

4. In a yarn tension device, the combination with a supporting frame having a series of parallel horizontal cylindrical yarn guides fixed thereto, said frame being adjustable at will longitudinally with respect to said yarn guides, a second framepivoted to the first frame on an axis parallel to said guides and having another series of horizontal cylindrical yarn guides alternating with the first series and adapted to project down between and below them in accordance with the strain on the yarn passing through the guide, said pivoted frame being supported by the first frame and movable with it longitudinally to bring different portions of the cylindrical surfaces of both sets of yarn: guides into a position to receive the wear, for the purpose described. i

5. In a yarnguide and tension device, in combination, a'frame having fixed thereon an inclined series ofhorizontal yarn guides, a second frame pivoted to the first frame at a point adjacent to the lower end of said series of guides and on a parallel axis and having a series of horizontal guides alternating with the first named guides and located in an inclined position in all positions of said pivoted frame, whereby the yarn can pass into the tension device at a point near the pivot where the separation of the guides is relatively slight and will pass through it in a direction toward the other end where the guides may be separated from each other to a greater degree and whereby the pivoted guide will be held up solelyby the yarn.

6. In a yarn tension device, the combination with a longitudinal rod, of a frame supported on said rod, a sheet metal plate supported by said frame and having inwardly projecting flanges to constitute a track, a carriage consisting of a sheet metal member having upper and lower surfaces in the tracks and slidable on said plate, means for securing 1 said carriage 1n adjusted position thereon,-

and a series of yarn guides carried by thecarriage and ad ustable to different wearing positions by the movement of the carriage.

7. In a yarn tension device, the combination of an adjustablelongitudinally slidable carriage, a plate constituting one side thereof, a s'eries'of yarn guides parallel with each other projecting from said slide parallel with the adjustment of the carriage and transverse to the path of the yarn, a plate pivoted to said carriage'at the other side and having a series ofsimilar yarn guides alternately spaced with respect to the first named guides and adapted to move between them, to exert pre'ssure on the yarn, in proportion to the amount which the strain on the yarn allows them to descend. 7 1 a a 8. Ina yarn guide, the combination of a frame and a series of guides for the yarn projecting. from oneside of the frame,'with a plate pivoted at the other side of the frame and havinga series of yarn guides secured to it and alternating with the other series, the yarnpassing alternately over and under the guides or the two series, and an adjustable limit stop for said plate having a gradually 'divergingsurface for engaging the bottom I thereof, and ad ustable about a pivot to limit the lowermost position of said pivoted plate 9. A device for applying drag to yarn in a practically fixed yarn path having manual means for adjusting the device transversely of the yarn path sideways to provide a new yarn bearing surface substantially as described and means independent of the adjusting device for maintaining the' yarn path in practically the same place irrespective olt adjustments. 1 V i In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature. I Q i v LEWIS T. HOUGHTON. 

